the lack of understanding of this type of camera in a photography forum is almost mind-blowing.

I have no problem understanding it. It's small, light, should provide excellent IQ, shoots in RAW, has all the normal shooting modes plus TaV, etc etc. I just don't want one. And I don't want one because it forces me to shoot at 28mm 100% of the time.

For crowds 28mm would be fine, but it's far, far too wide for portraits. If you get close at all you'll have distortion.

Sorry, I meant equivalent, so between 23 and 35mm in real terms.

But this is just cropping!

Exactly my point. If they had produced the camera with a longer focal length they would then offer something unique, and more useful, in this limited market.

Not at all, because these are for an SLR and can therefore be swapped for other focal lengths. A fixed-lens camera needs the most useful focal length possible, and that won't be 28mm for the majority as in the broad scheme of things it's quite extreme. Do so many people want to shoot exclusively at wide angle???

Remember that 28mm is close to the diagonal of an aps-c sensor so in a way makes more sense than using a 43mm, 50mm or 55mm. Those would be tough to do group shots of 8 people in a room.

Yah know, if they had just put four doors in this Corvette I might want one, but since they didn't I'm going to argue with everyone who knows the history of specialty sports cars, drives fast on the street and understands the DNA of the new car about why it is a bad idea before it is even announced, much less even released for me to sit in and try out and look at the design in the context of 60 years of history.

So it isn't for me and I feel entitled and am compelled to take up the discussion thread telling everyone why it isn't, when in fact there are other really good cars designed specifically to meet the needs I say this car doesn't..

And it also seems you can do just about anything from portrait, beauty, street and what have you with it - if the right person uses the tool. I personally feel that if a user (aspiring to be photographer) can't make great shots with a (restrict it to non-extreme) focal length it only shows that user is not up to his aspirations - and says nothing about the fitness of the tool he can't manage.

Photography is about creativity, not dumb rules "use 50mm for this, use 85mm for that".

Some of my favorite portraits were shot with my 12-24. 18mm is not too wide. Its actually more of a good swiss army knife focal length. Wide enough to capture vistas as well as large rooms. I would practically kill for a good 18mm lens for my k-5. If this lens is good it would make a worthy addition to any bag. Interested in seeing how the wide angle adapter performs.

99% of the people will need the zoom 10 times more than the WR. Large sensor and lack of long lens is a shame. With this camera, if you don't pixel peep and if the light is good, most of the pictures will look similar as taken from
a phone with a good sensor or a point and shot. I know this because I have a similar camera with the same focal.

Bokeh is one of the big advantages of the large sensor and you will not get that with a wide lens.

I own a Panasonic 4:3 with a 14mm pancake, so is 28mm equivalent. This focal is a sort of compromise, is good sometimes in narrow spaces and so on, but the bad is the lacking the bokeh and the fact that this
wide angle isn't especially flattering to people faces.

I tell you, if they manage a small camera with a large sensor and the most important thing: a long zoom lens that is collapsible , they would strike gold. A lot of people wish a camera with large sensor but without the ridiculous big zooms from the nex cameras for example. Even the panasonic and olympus zooms aren't that small, and even their pancakes protrudes...so you cannot carry a Gf2,3,etc in your pocket so easily.

Not at all. Winogrand and HCB and many other RF shooters used 28mm in 135 for candids and all sorts of shots.

They also probably have three to five other cameras they carry around with themselves. Most people don't and this is why I *suspect* the GR will be (and has been) a very good camera but with a very limited opportunity to generate robust sales.